To Beat A Weasley
by Herenya Brandybuck
Summary: As Quidditch rivals and prank war enemies, Jessica and Amber intend to show Fred and George Weasley who is the better pair. However, things don't always turn out as expected...
1. Necessary Introductions

**Chapter 1  
Necessary Introductions to the Personae Dramatis**

"Jessica!" A short, blonde figure tackled the dark-haired girl waiting at Platform 9 ¾ in an enveloping hug.

The girl staggered backwards, then reciprocated the embrace. "Amber! I was just looking for you! What took you so long!"

"Well, I couldn't find my cauldron, and then one of my robes ripped. Took me forever to get it fixed, not being able to use magic outside of school and all." She sighed as they waited. "How was your summer?"

Jessica Rainey rolled her eyes. "Uneventful. I am _so _glad to be going back to Hogwarts. I seriously thought the summer would never end."

Her best friend Amber Papineau nodded. "Me too. And all the talk about You-Know-Who coming back? Seriously depressing. I'd feel so much safer around Dumbledore...Have you been reading the _Prophet? _

"Yeah, I can't help it. Rachel has been going around the house fuming at every issue. She's louder than a Howler when she gets mad! And then when Hermione would come over..." Jessica shook her head in exasperation at her younger sister and her roommate. "I'm just glad that Hermione was off with the Weasleys most of the summer, and that they're both in Gryffindor and we don't have to put up with it at school."

"Well can you really blame them? I mean, Harry _is_ a really good friend, especially to Hermione, and the _Prophet _has done nothing but attack him since the end of the Tournament in June. Besides, the girls were victimized just as much at the beginning of the summer, what with Hermione's "love triangle…" and then they had to make up Rachel and Cho's supposed catfight over Cedric…"

"Yeah, but believe me, they got their revenge. And anyway, couldn't that Skeeter lady have come up with a better story than Cedric for Rach? She can't stand him."

Amber's face fell. "You mean couldn't."

As a Ravenclaw prefect, Amber had spent a good deal of time with the Hufflepuff, and perhaps knew him a little better than Jessica. His death had affected her perhaps a bit more than the others, and Jessica was immediately sorry she brought it up. She put her arm around her friend. "It's gonna be so weird going back, after everything that's happened..."

Suddenly the clock struck 10:30 and the girls parted, gathering their things. "You go first? I have to wait for Rachel anyway. She's off somewhere looking for Hermione." Jessica looked at Amber, the less clumsy of the two.

Amber nodded, and, after looking around the platform to check for staring Muggles, she headed straight through the brick wall separating the wizarding world from the Muggle one.

After Jessica had met up with Rachel, their parents, and the Grangers, the group entered the magical part of the train station. Jessica's and Rachel's parents, Ron and Norma Rainey, were American wizards who worked for the wizarding government. Ron was a lower-level Potions manufacturer, and Norma was a secretary for the American Department of Wizard-Muggle Relations. Norma, a pureblood American witch, had gone to the American wizarding school, but Ron and his brother, both Muggle-born, had gone to Hogwarts. The girls had each been invited to Hogwarts, first Jessica, then Rachel a year later. The family enjoyed the girls' enrollment at Hogwarts, as the British school of witchcraft and wizardry was much more prestigious than the American one, and magic made the distance easily manageable.

Hermione and Rachel spotted their best friend's family, accompanied by several well-known Aurors and a great black dog, and swallowed their friends Harry and Ron in excited, chattery hugs while the boys reciprocated, amused. Mr. Weasley shook Ronald Rainey's hand, then Mr. Granger's, and the three mothers hugged one another warmly and chatted about their summers. Harry, Ron, Rachel, and Hermione talked about their upcoming year, the horrid Daily Prophet articles, and Ron's and Hermione's recent appointment as the Gryffindor fifth-year prefects. Jessica hovered close to her parents, scanning the room for Amber, who finally appeared, walking toward them. The clock was nearing eleven, so the students said goodbye to their families and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Amber, Hermione, and Ron all took their leave as prefects and left the rest to find compartments with their friends. Harry and Rachel found one with Ginny, Neville, and a girl Jessica didn't know, leaving her to find one for herself. She walked down the aisle, searching for an empty one…four seventh-year Slytherins, no thanks. Next to that, some first and second years. Suddenly, the train lurched forward, and she had no time to look any more. She stumbled into a seemingly empty compartment, and made to sit down. She didn't land on the seat though.

"Oi, look what we have here," an unmistakably Weasley-twin voice said in her ear, very close to her ear in fact. She leapt up the split second she realized she was sitting in the lap of George Weasley, her Quidditch rival and prank-war nemesis. She blushed to the roots of her hair.

"I--uh, I'm sorry," she stammered, then glared at him and his laughing companions: his brother Fred and their friend Lee Jordan.

"Not at all," he said with a smirk. "You're more than welcome to join us!"

"No thanks," she said, feeling that this was even worse than the possibility of being in a compartment with a Slytherin. Despite the fact that the twins' brother was one of Jessica's sister's best friends, she could not deny that as the new Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and co-beater with Amber opposite the twins, she had shared too many years of prank-filled rivalry with them to ever look upon them as friends. She quickly exited the compartment, tripping a bit as she went, then with no small effort found a compartment with a couple of boys on her Quidditch team to sit in. Sitting down in a huff by the window, she tried to wait for Amber in silence, making small talk occasionally with the two chasers she was sitting with. It was going to be a long trip.

Meanwhile, Amber arrived at the prefect's compartment with Ron and Hermione and immediately wished that she could go back two years in time and refuse her appointment as prefect. She hated these meetings, these formalities…things that kept the prefects away from appropriately throttling Slytherins or bullying first-years. Amber looked down and realized that she was gripping her purse altogether too tightly for comfort, and immediately loosened. Upon hearing the train's loud whistle, she determinedly shook her head and turned her thoughts to more pressing matters. Such as the scent of dungbombs entering the compartment. Amber volunteered to go find the culprits.

She had finally reached her seventh year at Hogwarts, and it had been a long journey indeed. Her dad, John, had once been a wizard, but had abandoned that life upon Voldemort's first rise to power in order to protect his young daughter. Several years later, he had met and married the pretty Muggle woman, Jenelle Wingers. After that, they had lived as Muggles in London and had added two more children to the family. Amber had lived in blissful ignorance of the wizarding world until that fateful day the June of her tenth year. Upon receiving the letter from Hogwarts, she had begged her father to let her go until he finally capitulated. Her parents seldom accompanied her to the train station, and she missed them fiercely already. It was hard to believe it was her seventh year already, and with it, NEWTs and a career choice were looming ahead.

In the meantime, however, her biggest worry was finding the source of the dungbombs. She came around a corner and found her greatest trial as a prefect, the number-one-Gryffindor-point-remover Fred Weasley snickering slightly at a couple of second-year Hufflepuffs. She sneaked up behind him and grabbed him by the ear.

However, rather than protest, he spun her around and gathered her in his arms, whispering in her ear, "Blimey, couldn't wait to get your hands on me, now could you?"

Amber rolled her eyes and ducked away. "Well, Fred, I wasn't aware that it was possible for a house to start the year with _negative_ points, but you managed to prove me wrong. Ten points from Gryffindor," she replied coolly.

He patted her on the head and said, "Maybe we can find a broom closet when we get to the castle and you can take off even more. How does that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful," she replied sweetly, "Because you just lost Gryffindor another five points." Taking a page from Fred's book, she patted him on the cheek and walked away.

Spotting Hermione and Ron in a compartment on her way back, she assumed the prefect meeting was finally over. She walked down the aisle until she saw Jessica sitting in a compartment with two of their Quidditch teammates and best friends, Chasers Richard Bradley and Christian Chambers. She walked into the compartment, giving Bradley and Chambers hugs in turn and sitting down beside Jessica.

Bradley was first to strike a conversation. "Did you get tickets to any of the Puddlemere games this summer?"

"Actually, I did manage to make it to one," said Amber, blushing slightly.

Chambers was quick to respond. "Get to see your beloved Oliver this summer, did you?" he asked, smirking.

"You twit, he's not my beloved. You know as well as anyone that Oliver and I split when he graduated from Hogwarts." She blushed again and added in an undertone, "But yes, I did say hello." She immediately sank into her reverie again, admitting to herself that though she and Oliver Wood had broken up over a year ago, she wasn't completely over him. The two of them had been exchanging letters that sometimes made her wish, deep down inside, that she could have him by her side again.

Her thoughts were broken by the more insensitive of their companions. "What about you, Jess?" Chambers asked his new Quidditch captain, who was currently daydreaming the conversation away, staring out the window with a surly look. "Did you see Adrian Pucey at all? Or did you manage to hop over to the Weasleys' to see that handsome former Head Boy of yours?"

Amber rolled her eyes and Jessica just glared at him. After her disastrous relationship with the bad-boy Slytherin Chaser, Percy Weasley had been quick to step in and claim her, intelligent, well-kept, and most importantly, rule-abiding, as the perfect companion for an ambitious Head Boy. She was only fifteen when he graduated, however, and as he needed someone older and more permanent to plan out his life with, the relationship ended. Perhaps he wasn't the ideal mate for the free-spirited Jessica, but she admitted that she missed him, or maybe it was just a relationship in general that she missed. Chambers had a point, though. It wasn't exactly planned, but Jessica had managed to see her ambitious ex over the course of the previous school year. He had shown up at the Yule Ball as Barty Crouch's representative, and though she and Amber had attended with good-looking Durmstrang boys, he had asked her for a dance. Other than that, their correspondence had been minimal at best.

Suddenly, one of the older prefects stuck her head in the compartment. "Amber, we're almost to the castle. We should be rounding up the first years."

Amber nodded and gathered her things. The others did the same, and soon, the castle was coming into view in the moonlit world outside the window.

Another year at Hogwarts had begun.

* * *

**A/N: This fic was co-written and beta'ed by my friend and fellow story character, Amber. I know it's usually lame to write oneself into a fanfiction, but this time we'll make it work. I promise. A different take on an unoriginal idea. Also, note that while I'm aware of the fact that Roger Davies is still the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain in Book 5, I say, for the purpose of this fic, that he graduated at the end of Book 4. Cause I want to be Captain, dangit! Ahem. Reviews welcome, and in fact, appreciated. Flamers ignored.**


	2. Conversations and Allegations

**Chapter 2  
Conversations and Allegations**

The sorting and feast was over. Amber had just finished putting the first-years to bed and was making her way to the prefect's lounge to join Jessica, who was waiting.

Entering the lounge, Amber grinned at her friend, who was taking advantage of being recently appointed as the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. "So you're finally able to join me in the prefects' lounge, I see," she said, sitting down on the massive sofa beside Jessica. "Enjoying being Quidditch captain, are you?"

"Say those last two words again?" Jessica put her hand behind her ear and tilted her head.

"Are you…"

A pillow flew in Amber's direction. "No really, let me hear it."

"Quidditch captain."

"Mhmm…again…"

"Quidditch captain…" Amber rolled her eyes.

"Once more."

"I know you're the bloody Quidditch captain already! You're worse than Oliver…"

Jessica burst into laughter. "Not _quite_ that bad. Come on, Amber, I've waited my whole life for this. I'm just happy we finally got rid of Davies...maybe this year we'll actually win some."

While Jessica's intelligence had most definitely earned her a place in Ravenclaw, Quidditch was so much more than something she did on the side; she was obsessed. Indeed, to look at her, one would see the stereotypical Ravenclaw: a quiet, bookish tomboy. One would _not_ expect to see an aspiring professional Quidditch player, but that was Jessica's dream. She was petite, with long dark hair and hazel eyes, but the spitfire personality that Quidditch brought out made her tough and strong. With her as captain, the Ravenclaw team stood more than a good chance this year.

"Quidditch is the best thing to happen to the wizarding world…ever…" she mused.

Amber rolled her eyes again. "Not that I don't love it, too, but it was responsible for the near extinction of the Snidget."

It was Jessica's turn to roll her eyes. "You and Hermione talked too much this summer…what's the name of her little society? Spew?"

"It's S.P.E.W.! Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Besides, don't you have some kind of society for your precious dragons?"

Jessica glared at Amber. "They're horribly mistreated…I wonder if anyone has ever tried actually _talking _to them?"

Amber giggled. "Remember what Cedric told me about what Crouch said…Chinese Fireball, ooooh!"

Both girls giggled, their laughs soon escalating into gasping, quivering breaths of amusement. "I think we should move on to safer topics," Amber panted. "What do you say, Jess?"

"So…" A pause. "Quidditch…"

"Argh! Hang on, no, good topic--do you know when our first match is, or who we're playing?"

"Aha! You're just as obsessed as Oliver and me, and you know it. How else could you have put up with the ceaseless talk about Quidditch?"

"I do love it, but he doesn't just talk about Quidditch…he talks about other stuff, too. And besides, it's easy to put up with someone who has Quidditch-caused muscles…"

"Enough…too much information!" Jessica laughed. "Speaking of which, do you think there are any guys worth fancying this year? I mean, last year there were the Durmstrang guys…but this year?"

"Hey, Durmstrang dudes! Hehe….um, never mind. Everyone's pretty much the same as they've ever been. I'm a seventh year, Jessica…it's sad, but the oldest interesting guys are fifth-years. And there's only one Harry Potter, and your sister fancies him. And he's much too young. Not to mention too dangerous to hang around for a meek, aspiring Potions mistress, although I'll have to be up to speed on the wand-work anyway."

Amber--short and blonde with blue-green-grey eyes and a medium build--was logical, practical and unromantic. She was upbeat, if cynical--always good for a laugh. Her randomness often elicited laughs from others as well, and led them to believe she was quite flamboyant. So she was, except for the reserve that fell over her at times.

"Uhh, let's not talk about Harry. I hear enough about him from Rachel. I would say Bradley and Chambers are note-worthy…except that they're not! Kind of the brotherly love factor, too. But there was an incident on the train…" Jessica blushed as she admitted sheepishly, "with George Weasley." Amber roared. "Wait! Quiet, you! I like the hair…you know that…but it's George Weasley, for Godric's sake! Besides…" she added a bit more seriously, "it's a bit too much to think of another Weasley so soon."

Amber snickered at the reference and Jessica glared. "Well, at least I never fancied Charlie Weasley!"

Amber shot a glare back at Jessica. "That was my first year! And I got over it. But tell me all…what happened with George? Wait -- you do remember that he is our Quidditch rival, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter. It was really nothing. And of course I remember he's our Quidditch rival! You don't really expect _me _to forget something like that? I don't like him! I was just saying!" A bit too quickly, she switched subjects. "And we _will_ beat Gryffindor this year, there's just no question! I have big plans for the team, we'll be working out like crazy…it's straight to the top for Ravenclaw!"

Amber conveniently neglected to tell Jessica about her own encounter with the other Weasley twin. "Wow, you sounded eerily like Oliver then…creepy. Don't do that again." She looked at the clock by the fireplace. "It's getting late, and I have to patrol."

The girls got up, and while Amber went to patrol the deserted corridors, Jessica went back to her room to finish unpacking. Two of her roommates, Serena Fawcett and Melinda Ackert, were still in the lounge, but as she walked in her room, she was met by two of her least favorite people in her year: Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecomb. While Marietta was just obnoxious and liked to have things her way, Jessica had much more reason to dislike Cho. As Seeker, she was, in Jessica's opinion, a big reason the team was just mediocre. Not only that, but Jessica's sister Rachel had had a thing for Harry for several years now, and it was no secret that Harry was quite taken with Cho. Naturally, Jessica felt a sense of competition on her sister's behalf, especially since Cho never was able to make up her mind about the boys she was interested in and that always resulted in at least one person getting hurt.

Forcing herself to be nice, Jessica said hello and good night to the girls, trying not to disturb them as they were going to bed.

The next few days were typical of the beginning of the year at Hogwarts. Other than the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (who, according to the general consensus, was the most horrid thing to ever set foot in Hogwarts) and the absence of Jessica's fellow magical creature-lover Hagrid, it was nice to be back. Amber's NEWT level classes proved to be demanding, but it was nothing too hard for the ridiculously intelligent Ravenclaw to handle. She planned to go into Potions manufacturing after Hogwarts, but her dearest ambition was to take over the position of teaching Potions when Snape either got the DADA job he craved so dearly, retired, or got sacked, whichever came first. Amber was actually his teaching assistant with the second year class periods, but still found ample time to do well in her NEWT level Herbology, Runes, Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA classes.

Jessica, the more active of the two, strangely enough preferred Astronomy above all her other subjects. She was also quite enthusiastic about Care of Magical Creatures and devoted a good amount of time to DADA as well. She struggled more with the less active subjects such as Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Runes, but managed to keep her head above water with her sharp Ravenclaw intellect.

This year was turning out to be no different. The warm feeling of being back home was everywhere as the students reacquainted themselves with the routine of the school year. One such routine was the morning owl post.

At breakfast one morning a few days into their first week of classes, a familiar owl came to rest beside Amber. She and Oliver Wood had been keeping a steady stream of correspondence for the past year or so since he left Hogwarts, and she had been expecting a letter for the past couple of days.

She broke the seal and started to read, but before she could catch more than a few words, it was jerked out of her hand. She leapt up and spun around to find a grinning Weasley twin holding her letter, with the other one standing close behind. It was easy enough to know which was which on the train, as they were wearing their initialed sweatshirts, but now that they had donned their school robes, she was quite at a loss as to which was which.

"Fred Weasley! Give me back my--oh no, George--no, right, Fred--ahh, bugger it all! Give me back my bloody letter!"

She grabbed at it, but the tall redhead held it high above her petite frame, before passing it off to his twin. She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, to her horror, he held his wand to the throat, muttered _Sonorus _and with a wicked grin, started reading for the entire Great Hall to hear.

"_Dear Amber_," he began quite properly, "_First things first--I have to tell you about the Arrows game._ Merlin, is that all the quaffle-head ever talks about? Hasn't changed a bit, I tell you…_I don't know if it can get any better! The score was 330-0. Besides superb goal-keeping, if I may say so, I ended up scoring three times myself!_ Well that's no surprise, the poor fellow always was an overachiever…" At this point, he handed it back to his twin, whose voice was equally loud as he read.

"_And the seeker ended the game by catching the snitch after a perfectly executed Wronski Feint. I swear, it was better than Krum's at the World Cup. Words fail me._ That'd be the first time, for sure. _Mum sends her love, and I'll send the flowers. Apparently snap-dragons mean sympathy. You have my sympathy in dealing with the twins. I never quite figured out how to handle them._ Twins? Surely he can't mean us, now could he, George?"

"Most certainly not. Everyone knows we're angels, isn't that right, Fred?"

The smirk on his face gave Amber the sneaking suspicion that he _was_ Fred. However, she now cared less than ever who it was, because after taking it back from his brother, he read the last two words with a wicked smirk and a sense of relish. "_Love…Oliver." _

The other twin, voice still amplified by the _sonorus _charm, had fun with that. "I thought the two of you broke it off…guess I was wrong, I surely don't sign letters with the word _love _when the correspondence is as platonic as you work so hard to make yours seem…" He kept going like this for a few more minutes, while Amber looked helplessly on, her face contorted with rage, as the entirety of Hogwarts witnessed her mortification. She was oblivious to the fact that there was nothing embarrassing about the note, and the way the twins' jabs at Oliver were entirely good-natured; she was only aware of the blood rushing to her face, which was now more or less the color of a bright red quaffle.

The twin that was speaking stopped abruptly as a 13" walnut wand appeared dangerously close to his eye. "Shut your bloody face up or I will shut it for you," Jessica threatened darkly, and the menacing look on her face assured them she really would.

Too surprised to say anything, the redhead opened his mouth, then closed it again, and opened it, though no sound escaped. Jessica ripped the letter from his now limp hand and gave it to Amber. With a glare and an angry flick of her wand, she muttered, _"Silencio," _twice, rendering the shocked twins silent for once.

After picking up her book bag, as well as Amber's, she linked arms loyally with her livid friend and turned on her heel. As the two of them stalked out of the Great Hall, Jessica hissed in Amber's ear, "_We will bloody get them back if it takes all year!_"

The rest of the Great Hall returned to breakfast as the (quite literally) dumbstruck twins gaped at the retreating girls.

"That's not one you want to have as an enemy," George quipped, though no sound came out.


	3. The Taming of the Chipmunk

**Chapter 3  
The Taming of the…Chipmunk?**

Jessica and Amber had marched up to the older girl's dormitory in the last few minutes before classes started. Fuming, both had sat on Amber's bed.

"I'm generally a pacifist, but just this once….I need revenge," said Amber, still red with fury.

"Are you sure you're a pacifist?"

"Yes…well, maybe. But the point is, we must get back at them, idiotic twins that they are. And I just might have an idea…."

Jessica looked at Amber contemplatively. "What do you have in mind? You know I'll help."

"Well, there are two of them, and there are two of us…."

"Thank you for stating the obvious…"

"Oh, shut it. Anyway, I know several rather innocent charms that can double as curses. Quite fascinating, really. I'm thinking we can put _Sonorus _to use again…and there's a fascinating hex I just learned in Charms...by saying the incantation, _Tamiasus,_ you make the person's voice sound just as if they had inhaled helium, you know, the gas in Muggle balloons that makes your voice sound like a chipmunk?"

"Oooh," said Jessica appreciatively, "Imagine if they were talking and all of a sudden their voices sounded through the Great Hall…sounding like a chipmunk! It's perfect. I think we should hex them during lunch."

"Definitely. But we should be surreptitious. I have NEWT Transfig with them second period…we can act like the whole letter incident is forgotten, a thing of the past."

"Yay for acting! I do think, though, that I'll go ahead with the Sonorus and leave the other to you."

"Brilliant. Well, time to head to classes -- see you at lunch!"

"And lunch will be splendid, indeed."

Amber had gone to her NEWT Potions class and later to her Transfiguration class that she had with Gryffindor. She had almost been unable to conceal her smirk upon seeing Fred and George, who, catching her eye once or twice, seemed almost contrite. She had been wrapped up in the lesson and scarcely noticed that lunchtime was already upon them.

Amber and Jessica met up at the doors to the Great Hall. They walked in, noticing that Fred and George were sitting down at the Gryffindor table next to Lee Jordan. Lee greeted the twins but continued to look down the table longingly at Angelina Johnson.

Jessica grinned at Amber. "Well, here goes."

Jessica and Amber simultaneously released their non-verbal spells. Both made sure they hit both of the twins. They then joined Bradley and Chambers at the Ravenclaw table.

At that moment, Fred's booming, chipmunk-like voice carried across the Hall, "…seriously, Lee, you need to get a move on it with Angelina. Honest to Godric, we were never really serious…."

Fred's voice faltered as he realized several things. First of all, every head in the Great Hall was turned toward him, George, and Lee, and they were all laughing. Secondly, it seemed to be due to the fact his voice had carried--as if he had somehow used the _Sonorus_--and his voice was more high-pitched than a little girl's. Also, poor Lee, caught in the crossfire, was glaring at him, his secret having been revealed to the entire school. Angelina was looking back and forth between him and Lee, alternating between expressions of anger and embarrassment.

George initially decided to hold his tongue. However, when he remembered his and Fred's morning "prank" of reading that Ravenclaw prefect's letter, he whipped his head around toward the Ravenclaw table and saw that both Amber and Jessica had nearly fallen out of their seats from laughter. He stood and pointed at them.

"Oi! You two!" George yelled, forgetting that everything he said was audible without the aid of a raised voice. To his surprise, his voice as well came out sounding like a chipmunk.

The girls just laughed harder.

Enraged, George could do nothing except sit back down. Fred, on the other hand, marched straight over to the Ravenclaw table and started yelling at them. Perhaps he meant to sound intimidating, but he only succeeded in making himself look even more foolish.

"That was completely out of line! All I did was embarrass you, Amber, and you and your friend decide to do this!"

"Fred, is it? Well, tit for tat. You were supposed to be embarrassed--admittedly about something you did. But it's not like you and your nitwit of a twin have a monopoly on pranks or anything," said Amber with an air of amusement, "Oh, by the way, the spells will wear off in a couple of hours."

Jessica guffawed beside her, enraging the twins more.

George stepped beside his twin, disregarding the fact that he, too, sounded incredibly foolish. "A couple of hours? We have class! You must be mad!"

"How, by Merlin's beard, are we supposed to do anything in Charms if we sound like bloody girls, and loud ones to boot?"

Jessica grinned. "Why don't you ask Lavender or Parvati? I'm sure they could tell you."

Amber laughed loudly as the twins stomped off.

Later that evening, Jessica and Amber were sitting with Rachel, Hermione, and a friend of Amber's, Kenneth Towler, in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was in detention with Umbridge, and Ron was off doing something he wasn't willing to say. Rachel, Jessica, Amber, and Kenneth were all clutching their sides and wiping tears of laughter from their eyes as they discussed the hilarious outcome of the Ravenclaws' revenge, while Hermione sniffed disapprovingly as she was completing her Arithmancy homework.

"You should have seen them during Charms," Kenneth said, hiccupping. "I swear, I have never seen the Weasley twins so quiet!" Despite the fact that he was the twins' roommate, Kenneth harbored a strong dislike for them as a Gryffindor prefect and a regular victim of their frequent pranks.

"Ahh, it'll be good for them," Jessica quipped, glancing towards the far corner of the room, where the sulking twins were sitting with heads bowed together.

"Honestly, Amber, you're a prefect! You should have just let it slide," Hermione chastised.

Amber reached over with a grin and patted the younger girl on the cheek condescendingly. "In a few years, you'll understand, dear." Miffed, Hermione went back to her homework.

Rachel, however, glanced almost fearfully toward the corner where they were sitting. "They look like they're up to no good," she said quietly.

"You think they're going to let something like that slide? No doubt they're planning their comeback," Jessica asserted. "Whatever it is, we'll have to be ready. This war has been building up for years, and we'll see who comes out the better!"

Amber chuckled at her overzealous friend as she nodded in agreement, wondering how she always ended up close to people who took things so seriously.

After a few moments, Rachel bit her lip and nodded toward the twins, who were getting up and walking towards them. They did not look happy.

"Rainey. Papineau." Fred snapped, his voice back to normal. "Get up."

The girls complied, smirking.

"You're right," George said carefully.

The Ravenclaws stared at them, curious.

"This war has been a long time coming," Fred clarified.

"There's nothing for it except to duke it out--"

"--the two of us, against the two of you--"

"--and see who comes out on top." George finished decisively.

Jessica narrowed her eyes at the twins. "Are you--threatening us?"

"We prefer to call it a challenge," Fred said simply.

"But, if you want to play that game--" George said darkly.

"Yes." The twins had spoken simultaneously in identical, firm tones.

Jessica and Amber looked at one another. Since they had known this was coming all along, their acceptance of the challenge was a given.

"You're on," Amber spoke for the both of them.

Jessica nodded firmly.

The four of them stood in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, staring each other down. The entire room had ceased activity, watching them. Hermione was whispering disapprovingly to Rachel, and Kenneth was looking back and forth between the girls and the twins, clearly amused. Finally, the twins spoke together.

"This is war."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: I must give credit where it's due--Amber actually wrote the entire prank part of the chapter. I just finished it from the common room. Also, I'm in the process of making some minor changes to the first two chapters--very minor, just know that they're there. Just to make it fit more with the actual canon of OotP. Know that while this is shamelessly OC, I promise we won't change anything major concerning the plot unless we do it consciously and mention it in a quick disclaimer. Reviews welcome, as always!**


	4. Confusion, Confession, Consternation

**Chapter 4  
Confusion, Confession, and Consternation**

Over the next few days, the twins laid low. Suspicious though it was, it was just as well, because though they remained on their guards, Jessica and Amber had enough on their minds that they barely thought of their recently-declared war. Amber was preoccupied with scheduling an appointment to take her Apparition test, as she had only just turned seventeen, and Jessica was faced with the task of holding Quidditch tryouts for a Chaser to replace Davies.

Jessica and Amber were leaving the Great Hall one Thursday after dinner, two days before the Quidditch tryouts and Amber's Apparition test.

"I'm so nervous! What if I leave something behind? I've heard splinching really hurts."

"Talk about nervous, Amber! You just have to take a test. You like tests, remember? And you've Apparated perfectly every time. Think about me…I have to hold tryouts. I'm glad Davies is gone, but I'll admit he was a pretty good Chaser. Not only that, my first duty as Captain…what if I mess the whole thing up?"

Amber smiled reassuringly. "You'll do fine. I hope you find someone really good. After all, this is my last year. I want to be able to say we won the Quidditch Cup once while I was here."

"That's right, no pressure." Jessica teased nervously.

Amber patted her reassuringly and opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent as Lee approached them. Not sure why he was coming over, she looked around in confusion, and then realized Angelina was behind them. She gritted her teeth. For some inexplicable reason, Amber had never been fond of Angelina.

All of the sudden, two loud voices were heard, yelling, "_Personae Confundus_!" The hex hit Jessica and Amber, leaving no doubt as to who said it or why…unfortunately, Lee, who had been walking over to talk to Angelina, got hit with it as well. Fred and George stood quietly, waiting to see what would ensue.

Lee smiled at Jessica. "Well, it's getting late. I need to do my homework now if I want to get some rest before I have to hold tryouts."

"All right, Jessica. I need to get some rest, too, if I'm to do well on my Apparition test," Jessica replied.

The twins snickered as they saw the effects of the three-way Confundus charm.

Meanwhile, Amber had turned and was walking toward Angelina. "Oi, Angelina, got a minute? I have something to ask you."

Angelina nodded warily. "Ok…"

"Well, Fred and George are nitwits and already spilled the beans. But I was going to ask you, well, if you'd be my girl," said Amber, looking at Angelina hopefully.

Angelina snorted incredulously. "What kind of joke is this? You're not a lesbian, and even if you were, you don't even _like_ me, Papineau. It's not funny, so bugger off," retorted Angelina, stomping off toward the Gryffindor tower.

Amber looked devastated. "But, Angelina, I've loved you for years! Don't go!" She ran off after the Gryffindor Chaser.

In a corner, Fred and George were doubled over with laughter.

Fred giggled, "Did you see Amber? She bloody asked Angelina out! She can't stand her! And Rainey thought she was going to take an Apparition test…she's the only one of the three not old enough! But poor Lee…."

George smirked in amusement. "Yeah, I feel for Lee. We should have made sure the bloody blighter was out of the way first…but it was pretty hilarious."

Fred chuckled. "Poor fellow, everyone knows he's bloody awful at Quidditch…"

The twins walked toward Gryffindor tower, laughing at Amber, who they could see was still following Angelina.

Fred suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Oh no, no, no!"

George sighed in exasperation, "What, you great lump?"

"How long did we decide to make this last?"

"Why?"

"Um, at the moment, Amber thinks she's Lee. While it's bloody hilarious she asked Angelina out, there's one small detail we've forgotten. Lee is, uh, our roommate."

"Oh no."

"That's right, oh no."

Fred and George sprinted off after Amber.

Jessica and Lee walked up to the Ravenclaw Tower arm-in-arm, chatting happily about Quidditch. They arrived at the bronze, eagle-shaped door knocker.

Lee commented to Jessica, "Oh, I've forgotten how to get in. Sorry, Amber."

"It's okay--I am the prefect. I never forget how to get in," Jessica said, reaching up and knocking pompously.

Then came the question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Jessica just nodded thoughtfully. "I think that tastes, odors, colors, and so on are no more than mere names so far as the object in which we locate them are concerned, and that they reside in consciousness. Hence if the living creature were removed, all these qualities would be wiped away and annihilated."

Lee looked at Jessica in bewilderment. She turned to him and said simply, "Galileo." He shrugged and walked in.

When they arrived at the steps to the Girls' Tower, they began to ascend. They hadn't gone up two steps when Lee suddenly slid down.

Jessica stared at him. "I don't understand. It only does that to guys. Ha, Jessica, do you remember when Poliakoff tried to come up the stairs with me?"

Lee scratched his head. "Funny, I don't remember that. But I don't understand either. Well, clearly they're not going to let me go up to the stairs tonight. I'll just sleep on the couch here in the Common Room. Oh, Amber, would you mind bringing me down some clothes in the morning?"

"Sure. Rotten luck, Jessica. Sorry."

Lee curled up on the couch and promptly fell asleep.

Fred and George finally caught up with Amber at the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Oh, Fred and George! I seem to have forgotten the password, mates," Amber said to the twins.

"_Mimbulus mimbletonia_," said the twins in unison, exchanging a worried look. The portrait opened. When all three of them went in, Amber looked around. Seeing that Angelina was nowhere to be found, she sighed desolately.

"I guess I'll talk to Angelina in the morning. But I though for sure she fancied me," said Amber sadly.

George tried to conceal a smile. "Rotten luck, mate. We thought so, too. Give it another go tomorrow."

Fred whispered, "It should have worn off by then, right?"

"Yeah, it'll wear off sometime tomorrow," George whispered back. Turning to Amber, he said, "Well, mate, why don't you take a nap. The couch looks unoccupied."

Amber looked at him questioningly. "Why would I want to sleep out here? It's bloody noisy. I'm going to sleep in my own bed."

Fred choked suddenly as Amber started heading up the Boys' stairwell. She kept going until she reached the door with the words "Seventh Years" emblazoned on it. George patted his brother on the back and followed the blonde girl up the stairs.

Amber opened the door and stepped into the room. "It's a good deal messier than I thought. I can clean up a bit before going to bed."

Kenneth Towler opened the curtains around his bed and gaped, open-mouthed, at his friend. "Amber, what in the world are you doing with these apes? What are you doing _here_, anyway?"

Amber looked at him in confusion. "What are you going on about, Ken? It's me, Lee. Get your eyes checked, you daft buffoon."

Kenneth turned to the twins and glared accusingly. "What have you done to her?"

Fred and George exchanged looks, wordlessly agreeing that honesty was the best policy in this situation. After all, as one of Amber's fellow prefects, Kenneth was her friend and likely wouldn't do anything to get her in trouble.

Fred began, "Well, you see, it's a bit complicated. We were getting a little revenge for that stunt of hers and Jessica's--"

"--and we came up with this wonderful charm that mixes people up with someone else--"

"--and Lee just happened to get in the way. So, now, Lee thinks he's Jessica--"

"--Jessica thinks she's Amber, and Amber thinks she's Lee." George nodded his head toward Amber, who was looking at them with a look of utter puzzlement.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you all are going on about. I'm going to bed." Amber turned and began to take off her shirt, but was cut off by three loud yells. She turned back to them. "Really, what's wrong?"

Trying to avert his eyes, Fred ground out, "Just--just go change in the bathroom, Am--uh, Lee."

"What, shy all of the sudden, Gred?"

George interrupted, hand over his eyes, "No, Lee, all he means is that none of us are too excited about seeing your chest hair."

"You all are just jealous," said Amber, as she stepped into the bathroom. Kenneth, whose eyes were tightly shut, helpfully handed her an oversized shirt and a clean pair of boxers as she crossed the room. She scooped them up and walked in.

Stepping out a couple minutes later, clad now in a baggy shirt and boxer shorts that were several sizes too large, she said, "Good Godric, looks like I've lost a bit of weight. Anyway, good night, you old duffers." She threw herself onto Lee's bed and promptly fell asleep.

Kenneth sat on his bed in silence. He was in a quandary. On one hand, this was the perfect chance to get Fred and George in trouble--revenge for all the pranks they had played on him. But on the other hand, Amber was his friend. Telling McGonagall about Fred and George would get Amber in trouble not only for being in the guys' dorm, but for the prank she and Jessica had played. Across the room, Fred and George were both looking at him pleadingly.

"We swear, Ken, if you promise not to tell anyone, we'll never play another prank on you as long as we live," begged Fred.

"Really, we promise."

After a few more minutes of tortuous silence, Kenneth finally spoke, "All right. I won't tell. But if you ever do anything like this again, you'll regret it to your dying day."

The twins gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm off to bed, lads," said George. The others agreed and were all in bed soon. Fred crept over to Lee's bed and looked down at the girl who was sleeping peacefully. He smiled and walked back to his own bed and was soon in a deep, dreamless sleep.

Lee awoke with a start. He realized two things very quickly. First of all, he was freezing. Secondly, he was not in his bed, but on a couch in a room tastefully decorated in blue and bronze. Then he remembered the events of the night before, and fell to the floor loudly.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. What am I going to do?" With that, Lee hurriedly ran out of what he realized was the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Several minutes later, Jessica came down the stairs, wearing a pair of pretty, feminine, sequined shoes. She was wearing a matching necklace and a pink bracelet, and had tastefully applied glamour charms to her face and hair. Her school robes were over one arm. Looking at the couch, she called out, "Jessica, where are you? Oh well, I guess she's already gone ahead to breakfast. I'll head on down, too."

With that, she stepped out and headed toward the Great Hall.

Amber stretched, surprised to be awake before her alarm had gone off. Then she realized she was in a bed that was not her own. Also, the room smelled odd and was decorated in red and gold. The memory of the previous evening sank in and she shrieked. Loudly.

"What on earth? Shut--" Fred silenced himself when he realized the piercing noise that had woken him was from a female. He groaned when he saw that it was Amber, who was now apparently _very_ aware that she was not Lee.

By this time, George and Kenneth were awake, as well. Kenneth idly noted that Durham wasn't there and must have stayed out all night with his Hufflepuff girlfriend. All three males in the room simply stared at Amber as she continued to shriek.

"I can't believe it. I'm going to be in so much trouble," Amber moaned. Suddenly, she became aware of the three boys staring at her. She glared at Fred and George. "No, YOU two are in so much trouble. I hate you both! You'll be lucky if you get out of this with your scalps still attached--" Amber cut off suddenly. She had stood rather quickly, and now looked down, realizing she was wearing a t-shirt with nothing underneath and boxers several sizes too big. She blushed.

Fred and George blushed, too, but remained silent. Kenneth simply pointed to the bathroom, where she had evidently left her clothes the evening before. She ran into it and slammed the door behind her. Fred, George, and Kenneth all dressed hurriedly. The twins ran out the door, nearly tripping over their feet in their rush.

Kenneth had just finished tying his shoe as Amber stepped out of the bathroom. He smiled weakly at her. "Good morning."

She sighed. "For Godric's sake. I can't believe I slept here. And I asked Angelina out. Crap. I didn't check curfew last night! And I don't have my school robes."

Kenneth looked at her sympathetically. "I have an extra pair. You can borrow mine until you have a chance to go back up to your dorm for yours. And I'm dreadfully sorry about all this."

"It's all right. It's not your fault. Oh--poor Jessica and poor Lee! I have to go check on them."

She ran downstairs, paying no heed to the curious eyes watching her as she ran out of Gryffindor tower.

Rushing past her as she left, Lee ran straight into Fred and George and all three ended up in a heap. After disentangling themselves, Lee hurriedly spoke to them, "Am I in trouble? I slept in the Ravenclaw Common Room. And Jessica and Amber…oh, no! Amber asked Angelina out! Am I that obvious? Even a Ravenclaw who barely knows me knows that I like the girl…" He slapped himself on the forehead.

Angelina walked past at that moment. She looked at him with a pained expression, glared at Fred and George, and ran into the Great Hall.

"What in the world is going on?" Lee demanded.

Alicia Spinnet stopped, a sympathetic light in her eyes. "I'm not really sure. But everyone's saying you're dating Jessica, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. I heard from Marietta Edgecombe that you two walked up to the Ravenclaw tower holding hands. And Angelina really likes you. That's why she's so upset."

Lee looked up. "She does?" He grinned. "That's amazing!" His face fell. "But…argh! I'm not dating Jessica. I thought _I_ was Jessica, Merlin take it. I thought Jessica was Amber. And our arms were linked--we were not holding hands!" Suddenly, a thought occurred to Lee, and he turned to the twins, growling, "This is all your fault!"

With that he began to chase them, while they called out behind them, "We swear, Lee, we didn't mean for you to get hexed, too! We promise!"

Alicia merely looked at them in amusement as they ran off. She turned upon seeing Kenneth Towler and Amber Papineau. She blushed and gave a quiet, "Good morning." Amber asked the friendly Gryffindor, "What on earth is going on? Is Jessica all right?"

"I have no idea. I haven't made it into the Hall yet. I am assuming, though, that Fred and George have something to do with this, considering how Lee was yelling at them. Oh, Amber…I think I should warn you…everyone is saying you're…um…you're bisexual now…" She looked down as if she were afraid Amber would shoot the messenger.

Amber rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Good Godric. What am I going to do?"

At that moment, the Great Hall emptied. Everyone whispered as they passed the now silent trio standing right outside the door. Jessica emerged, arguing fiercely with Bradley and Chambers.

"I'm not Jessica, screw you! I'm Amber. The prefect, you know? You've known me since first year, you idiots!"

Amber simply sighed and walked up to her friend. She smacked Jessica on the side of her head. Jessica looked dazed for a moment, but then her eyes cleared.

"What the heck? I don't….oh, no. Hello, Amber. Sorry, mates." Jessica sighed.

The bell rang, signaling it was time for class. The six split and went their separate ways.

Amber dragged herself to lunch. Classes had been awful; everyone had been whispering about her, except for everyone in Ravenclaw. They had all been sympathetic, while her Hufflepuff and Slytherin classmates had smirked at the sight of her. She was at a loss about what she could do. Suddenly, she had an idea. She reached over and tapped Chambers on the shoulder.

She whispered, "Oi, Chambers, I have a favor to ask. Don't forget, you still owe me from that time you and Bradley got drunk in Hogsmeade last year…"

Chambers looked at her suspiciously, but whispered back, "What?"

Amber looked around, embarrassed. "Um, during lunch, would you mind if I suddenly…snogged you? I think it would quell a few rumors…"

"For Godric's sake, Amber, why me? Why not Bradley?"

"What, do you have something against kissing me? No, really, it's because _you_ aren't dating anyone and Bradley is, Chambers. And remember…"

"Yeah, I owe you, I know. And I'd make out with you any day," he said, winking goofily at her.

She rolled her eyes and they walked into the Great Hall together. They made their way to the Ravenclaw table, where Jessica was already sitting, talking to Bradley.

"Amber, have you heard all they're saying about us? Good Godric, I don't even know where to start. I mean, I even checked curfew last night!"

"How do you think I feel? I slept in a smelly guys' dorm and now everyone's saying I'm a lesbian."

Chambers winked at her, then said, "Aww, honey, I know you're not." With that, he leaned over and captured her lips. She put her arms around his neck while he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The entire Great Hall watched with open mouth as Amber and Chambers snogged blissfully. They broke apart, breathing heavily. Jessica gagged.

"Wow," Chambers said, breathlessly.

Amber whispered into his ear, "Don't get used to it."

The Ravenclaw Quidditch team, aware of what was happening, laughed. Everyone else continued to gape, even Fred and George.

"See, I told you she wasn't a lesbian, or even bisexual. She couldn't possibly be interested in a guy like Chambers if she was interested in girls--I mean, Angelina's hot," noted one astute Slytherin. Before lunch was over, most of the Great Hall had come to similar conclusions, spurred on by the rumors flying around.

Jessica sighed. "Well, Amber, you may have solved your problem. But, please, never make out with anyone in front of me again. Hey, maybe I should make out with someone so they'll stop saying I'm dating Lee."

Amber smirked at her friend. "Don't worry, I won't be making out with Chambers--or anyone else--for all of Hogwarts to see again. Besides, don't worry about Lee--I'm sure he'll get things straightened out with Angelina. Then everyone will know who he's dating."

Jessica nodded and then raised her voice, "Oi! Ravenclaw Quidditch team! Don't forget, tryouts are tomorrow morning at nine! Be there or I'll personally hunt you down. I know where each and every one of you sleeps!"

"Oh, Jessica, nice shoes," said Bradley, smirking at her.

"Yeah, you look..._girly, _for once," said the Ravenclaw Keeper, O'Bannon, appreciatively.

"Ah! I'm wearing your stuff, Amber! It's….pink!" tomboyish Jessica said, grimacing.

"Yes, it's pink. Get over it. Well, I'm off to the library to study until my class at two. Laters!"

"Want me to carry your books for you, sweetheart?" Chambers said, offering his arm. Amber smacked him on aforementioned appendage and walked off.

That evening, as the twins arrived at their common room, congratulating themselves for their brilliant prank on the girls, they were met with opposition that they didn't expect.

"What in the world are you two playing at?" shouted a furiously animated blur of red hair and freckles. Undoubtedly, their meek, hesitant younger brother Ron was the last person they expected to get on their case about the pranks, but here he was, screaming at them.

"Ickle Ronniekins, what are you talking about? We didn't do anything to Granger or Harry. Just relax," George said in a superior tone of voice.

Ron's faced reddened even more, if that was at all possible. "Why the bloody heck did you have to make Amber go up to your room? You embarrassed her!"

"Aw, George, isn't he cute? Ickle Ronniekins is in love…I never thought I'd see the day."


	5. A Prank Executed Poorly, or Poor Lee

**Chapter 5  
A Prank Executed Poorly, or Poor Lee**

Jessica was up before dawn the next morning. She sat in her bed poring over Quidditch handbooks for hours, looking out the window every now and then with faint worry. The sky, slowly growing light, threatened rain, and Jessica wanted nothing less than perfect conditions to hold tryouts in. She needn't have worried, however. Once the sun finally did peek over the mountains, all the clouds had dispersed and the sky was clear, promising Jessica her desired conditions.

She had never been particularly confident in anything she did, and while she had always been particularly good at Quidditch, she still never quite felt like she was as good as she'd like to be. To be sure, she was nothing more than pleased when she received the notice announcing her captaincy along with her book list over the summer. However, an unmistakable knot had settled in her stomach over the last few days, and now, facing the tryouts, she wondered if she would make it through the day.

She glanced over at her clock, which finally read 7:59. She knew it would be wise to wake Cho, as she knew her teammate would take the whole hour to wake up. She leaned towards the bed next to her and whispered. "Psst, Cho!"

The girl didn't stir.

More loudly: "Cho!"

Cho rolled over in her bed, but didn't wake up.

"Cho! Will you wake up?" Seeing no other option, she took off her slipper and threw it at Cho's head.

She raised up groggily, then glared angrily at her Quidditch captain, chucking the slipper back with more force than perhaps was necessary. "What do you want?"

"Get up, you nitwit. Quidditch tryouts in an hour." With that, Jessica made her way to the bathroom and dressed.

She arrived at the Quidditch pitch half an hour early. Warming up by flying around and absentmindedly hitting quaffles through the hoops, she tried to rid herself of the knot in her stomach, but to no avail. Bradley and Chambers joined her at a quarter till nine, and one by one, the rest of the team arrived. True to form, Cho arrived five minutes after with her hair still wet.

The tryouts passed without anything going wrong. Near the end, the Slytherin team came and sat in, trying to throw them off, but most were just able to ignore them. Jessica made notes on the ones that she felt had potential, and promised to let them know by supper.

As she took a shower, she realized that maybe, just maybe she'd do all right with this whole captain business. After she had dressed and straightened up her side of the room (she was a complete neat-freak and Cho, directly to her left, was extremely sloppy), she headed to the Owlry to visit Camilla, her pet mourning dove. Someone else was in the tower when she got there, however. Harry Potter turned around in surprise as Jessica stepped in.

She chuckled at the slightest trace of disappointment on his face. "I take it I'm not _exactly _the one you were hoping to meet up here, am I?"

He blushed, then changed the subject. "How did tryouts go?"

"Not bad, not bad." Camilla flew down to settle on her finger. "How are you?"

He looked down. "Okay."

"Really?" Jessica didn't believe him for a minute. It was true; the shy, sarcastic Quidditch captain had quite the soft spot for her sister's best friend. She looked upon him as something of a little brother, and mothered him almost as much as Molly Weasley, though in much subtler ways. "It's Umbridge, isn't it?"

His jaw clenched. "Well…sort of." He shrugged. "I've just been having these…dreams."

"Nightmares?"

"No…not really. Just really annoying. I don't know what it means." He shook his head slightly. "It doesn't matter. I've got bigger problems to worry about. Like you said, Umbridge." He laughed a little, and she joined.

"So, you fancy Cho?" she asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

He blushed again. "How do you know?"

"Harry, don't ever tell Ron anything you don't want the whole of Hogwarts to know. Because he'll tell Rachel, and then…"

He let out a slight laugh as he stroked Hedwig. "She's all right."

"Who, Rachel or Cho?"

He smirked. "Well, both, but I was talking about Cho. She still broods over Cedric though, so I really don't have a chance."

The matter-of-fact way he spoke, as if no emotion existed at all on the matter, quite amused Jessica. _Guys…especially younger ones…they have the emotional range of a teaspoon. _"Ehh, you're probably better off without her anyway. Honestly, I've never liked her."

"Yeah, and she's never really liked you either, has she? Oh well. We'll just see." There was an awkward pause, in which Camilla cooed contentedly. Hedwig looked at the dove in disdain, as if it were a personal insult that any bird should be more elegant or beautiful than she.

Jessica broke the silence when the big clock tower struck one. "Well, mate, I'd best be getting off. Got to choose a chaser before supper."

"Good luck with that. Oh…tell Amber Ron is looking out for her," he added with a wink. She laughed and departed.

Jessica and Amber sat in the Ravenclaw common room later that afternoon. The former was poring over notes from tryouts, trying to make a decision, while the latter was brooding morosely. Jessica knew it probably had something to do with the prank war. Suddenly, though, Amber smiled brilliantly.

Jessica asked sarcastically, "So why are you grinning like a Cheshire cat? Reveling in your success yesterday with your Apparition test? Daydreaming about some amazing potion?"

Amber turned to her. "Actually, yes to the latter. And you'll appreciate this one, too."

Jessica snorted dubiously. "Oh, really? Like I'd ever appreciate anything relating to Potions…or Snape…or Snape…" She gave a slight shudder.

"Oh, shush. I didn't see you complaining about Skele-Gro in third year. I can't believe Cho is mentally impaired enough to knock her own teammate off a broom, even during practice…or that anyone let Lockhart near you trying to mend your broken ankle after what happened to Harry." She paused. "There is something you can appreciate about Snape, you know."

"And what's that, Miss Know-It-All?"

"His sleeves. They're amazing. I'm going to have Madam Malkin make me robes with sleeves like that."

"Actually, you're right. Severus Snape's sleeves." She grinned oddly to herself, then remembered what they were talking about. "So, the amazing potion…"

"Right. There's this love potion--"

"Um, Papineau…love potions are illegal, aren't they? And who are you planning to use it on?" Her face contorted into an expression of utter disgust. "Oh, no…please tell me you haven't fallen in love with that old man…"

Amber looked at her friend, exasperated. "What old man?"

"Snape, that devilish old professor you're always writing and talking about! If you say you love him--"

"Ugh, I'll be hanged if I do! From Oliver Wood to Severus Snape? Who does that? No, you twit, we'll use the potion on Fred and George. And it's not illegal. It's one they use on Valentine's Day a lot--it's very mild. It only lasts like two hours. But that's long enough to inflict damage."

"What the heck! Why in Avalon would we want to make them fall in love with us?"

"NO! We won't make them fall in love with us. I was thinking maybe someone like Millicent Bulstrode."

Oh, is this the potion that uses a hair from the person you want the drinker to fall in love with?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Hmm, okay." Jessica thought a moment. "But, just a thought--why not use Cho's hair instead?"

"Uhh, why?"

"Three reasons. Because she's a git--"

"Can girls be gits?"

"Gah, Amber, let me talk! Three reasons! Point one, she's a git and deserves it. Point B, obviously, we get back at George and Fred. And finally, maybe Harry will get over his infatuation with her if he sees that the twins are interested. Then he could date Rachel!"

"Hmm. All noble reasons. But really, you need to calm down."

Jessica made a face at Amber. "You know you love me."

"Aww, of course I love you! Buddy! You're my favorite…"

"Aaah! You're scaring me. But I love you, too…I guess...but about the potion. When can you have it ready?"

"I can have the potion itself ready within the hour. But getting Cho's hair is going to be the challenge."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I can get it tonight from her hairbrush."

"Excellent." Amber grinned evilly, then turned her attention to the notes in Jessica's lap. "Have you made your decision yet? You said you'd give the results at supper."

"Ehh, I'm thinking it's going to be Cleveland. You know, the bloke that dodged a bludger while catching two back-to-back quaffles on opposite sides of the pitch, about the time that the Slytherins came out and started trying to distract?"

"Yeah, he was definitely the best."

Jessica looked at the clock. "Are you ready to go down to supper, then?"

"Yeah, but let's wait for Abbot and Costello."

"Huh?"

"You know, the American muggle comedians. But I was referring to Bradley and Chambers."

Jessica snorted. "That's fitting. But okay."

As soon as their teammates joined them, the quartet descended.

After Jessica made an impromptu announcement to the returning team as well as the new Chaser, Jessica and Amber surveyed the room, looking for three people: Fred, George, and Cho. Neither saw the twins, but jerked up in their seats upon seeing Lee Jordan make his way over to them.

Lee waved, and then spoke to Jessica. "Hey, I just wanted to apologize for Gred and Forge. And sorry if I caused you any trouble with your set," he said, nodding at Bradley and Chambers, who were glowering. Speaking then to both girls, he said, "But I owe you guys, too. Angelina and I are together now. She says she would never have known I fancied her if Papineau here hadn't, er, confessed my love for her."

Amber looked at him in surprise, but Jessica brushed the apology off. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault. Besides, you got it just as much as we did."

Nodding, he turned to leave when he saw Cho Chang approach.

"Hello, Lee. Bradley, Chambers, Papineau." The pretty girl turned to her roommate with somewhat of a glare. "Rainey--if you ever push my stuff around with your bloody paws again, I'll bloody kill you," Cho ground out, her normally pretty face quite, ah, unattractive at that moment.

Lee shook his head and walked away. Bradley and Chambers eyed Cho with distaste, while color rose in Amber's cheeks. Jessica just smiled sweetly.

"Keep your bloody stuff off your bloody side of the room, and I won't bloody have to push it over there," she said in a sticky-sweet, high-pitched voice. Cho turned quickly and ran back to her seat. Amber's eyes widened.

"Hey, Jessica, look! It's one of Cho's hairs," Amber commented, holding up a medium-length, black hair. "Now you don't have to rummage through her things and dirty your hands."

Jessica breathed out happily. "Wicked. This is amazing."

Several hours later, the potion was ready. Amber was grinning madly. Jessica grinned back at her. Suddenly, Amber groaned in dismay and smacked herself on the forehead.

Jessica looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"The potion's ready, but how, by Merlin's beard, are we going to administer it to them?"

Jessica winced. "Crap." She thought a minute, racking her brain for options. "I would say Kenneth, but he's got a stick up his rear." Amber snorted and Jessica continued. "Umm…no one else would be willing to prank George and Fred. Wait--Dobby! He'd do anything for me because he knows how close Harry and I are!"

Amber smiled enigmatically at her friend. "Yes, Dobby will do it. That's excellent. But, George and Fred? Most people refer to the twins as 'Fred and George.' You know, the oldest first…"

Jessica looked away. "I wasn't even thinking about it, honestly. It just came out. Seriously." She shook her head. "Well, then, tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. Breakfast. Tell Dobby!"

"All right. See you tomorrow morning. G'night!"

"Night!"

The next morning, Amber made her way down to breakfast. She saw that Jessica was already there, sitting with Bradley and Chambers. She plopped down next to Chambers, across from Jessica and Bradley. She leaned across the table and whispered, "Has Dobby given it to them yet?"

Jessica, too, leaned in. "I gave it to him, but he hasn't come out with the pumpkin juice yet."

Bradley leaned toward them. "Why are we whispering?"

Chambers joined in. "Because Papineau is in love with me and doesn't want anyone to know. Right?"

The others rolled their eyes at him, but the four bowed their heads close as Jessica explained "The Plan" to them. They all straightened when they noted the food had appeared. Knowing that Dobby had poured the drinks, they looked intently at the twins. Jessica and Amber gave sighs of relief when the saw the twins down the juice all in one gulp.

Their sighs of relief were short-lived, however. Amber nearly fell off the bench when she saw Fred turn from his conversation with Katie Bell and plant a kiss on Lee's cheek. Lee, who had been sitting between Fred and Angelina, frowned at Fred and grabbed Angelina's hand. "Very funny, but that's enough. Come off it."

What he didn't see was George, standing behind him. George knelt beside Lee and kissed him on the other cheek. Every jaw in the Great Hall dropped, including those of Jessica and Amber, as Fred pushed his brother off of Lee and started going off on George. Lee looked on with an expression of utmost horror and disgust as the twins seemed to fight over him. Not much of what the two were shouting at was distinguishable, other than various phrases like, "--my friend first--" and "--likes me better!"

Jessica and Amber turned back toward each other with accusing glares.

"You said--"

"You said--"

The girls would have come to blows across the table but for Chamber's hold on Amber and Bradley's restraint of Jessica. Amber slumped defeatedly and groaned as she realized her mistake. "The hair! It was probably Lee's, from when he came over to apologize!" She started banging her head against the table. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'm such an idiot."

Draco Malfoy walked by at that moment and sneered. "What, Papineau? Fancied Weasley, did you? Too bad he, ah, kicks with the other foot! A pureblood like you should know better than to mingle with blood traitors…or half-bloods," he said, looking at Jessica disdainfully.

Malfoy ran off as the four started pelting him with breakfast rolls.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!"

The entirety of Hogwarts watched as Lee Jordan ran out of the Great Hall, two redheads in pursuit. A muffled giggle sounded from the end of the Ravenclaw table where Jessica and Amber sat, now laughing hysterically. The laughter died, though, when Angelina sauntered over belligerently.

"Papineau, what the heck did you and Rainey make the twins do to my boyfriend?"

"We didn't do anything to Lee," Amber squeaked out. Jessica nodded vehemently, if unconvincingly. Angelina stomped off.

Several hours later, Amber and Jessica were sitting at lunch. Both laughed when they saw Fred and George making their way over. Anger was written all over their faces.

Fred spoke, "Not that that wasn't wicked --"

"But it was totally uncalled for --"

"And now our best friend is scared of us --"

"And our Quidditch captain wants to kill us --"

"And messing with Quidditch is not cool."

Amber and Jessica merely exchanged amused glances. The twins all but growled at them and walked back to the Gryffindor table.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRED AND GEORGE!! It is April 1, and the Weasley twins' birthday. As such, we dedicate this chapter to them as a birthday present!! (Also, as a side note, I applaud anyone who caught the "Little Women" reference, stuck in at a completely random place. Yay for Jo and Laurie, and "You'll be **_**hanged **_**if you--if I do!")**


	6. Distance and Delusion

**Chapter 6  
****Distance and Delusion**

Amber smiled as she sat on her bed two nights later looking over her batch of letters and the accompanying packages. One from Uncle Florean, one from Uncle Henry and Aunt Mary, one from Oliver, and one from…her father. That was curious. She moved that one to the back in order focus on the rest, and opened first the envelope bearing Florean Fortescue's strong, block letters.

_Dear Amber,_

_Happy birthday! While your birthday celebration before your return to school was lovely, I wish I could actually be there on this most auspicious day. I wish you a very happy 17th birthday! I debated about what to get you since I know what your parents gave you. Don't worry, I won't spoil it. So after much reflection I decided that a ticket to a Quidditch game with your favorite godfather wouldn't go amiss. Additionally, you'll find the traditional watch--my father's. I know it is customarily given to wizards as opposed to witches, but I think you have more guts than most of the wizards I know. Also, I have become increasingly aware of the improbability of my ever having children to whom I can pass on my belongings and history. So it is to be yours, and someday you can pass it on to your children. Anyway, I love you and look forward to seeing you at Christmas. _

_Love, Uncle Florean_

_P.S. Say hello to that Harry Potter for me._

Amber smiled fondly at her godfather's kind letter and opened the package to reveal a traditional silver watch with planets in the place of numerals. She noted in surprise that it fit her wrist perfectly. _Uncle Florean probably charmed it to fit me_, she thought in satisfaction. Amber looked up, having heard a noise on the stairs. She saw in relief that it was Jessica.

"Oh, hey! I'm opening birthday gifts. They're over a week late, though…I wonder..."

Jessica grimaced. "I've heard hints that our mail is now being searched."

Amber snorted. "Lovely, that's just what I need. The simpering hag _and_ my mail being read. Of course, the former is probably responsible for the latter, so…"

"Quite. Anyway, open the next one."

"Patience, my young padawan."

"_Your_ young padawan? I was the one who introduced you to Star Wars!"

Amber shrugged and proceeded to tear open her letter from her aunt and uncle.

_Dearest Amber,_

_Happy birthday! You're finally seventeen! We wish you all the best! For your gift, we decided that jewelry was a bit too conventional for such a special birthday. Having heard about your job that you'll have once you graduate, we wanted to offer you our congratulations. Also, we got you an apartment with the rent paid for a year! We hope this is satisfactory, as you had planned to spend a year there. It's in the Magical section of New York, just a few blocks from The Sorcerer's Theatre. It has two bedrooms and one WC. We've enclosed the key in the letter. It's quite nice, and we'll take you to see it at Christmas! _

_All our love, Uncle and Auntie_

Amber was shocked. She threw the letter to Jessica and pocketed the key. She then proceeded to open Oliver's letter.

_Dear Amber_

_Happy birthday! You're getting old…pretty soon you won't be able to sit on a broom any more. Ha! Just kidding. Anyway, congratulations! I won't tell you what I got you, but I'll tell you that you'll like it! I have all kinds of news but with the post becoming increasingly unreliable I'll tell you all about it at Christmas! _

_Love, Oliver_

Amber sighed. "Christmas! I have to wait 'til bloody Christmas to see people, or even just communicate without my letters being read!"

Jessica said nothing, but snatched the letter out of Amber's hand as the latter opened the awkward, bulky package. She laughed as she saw Oliver had sent her the new Expandable-Inflatable Quidditch pitch.

Jessica laughed, then her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my gosh! Quidditch practice! We have to go RIGHT NOW! I'm the captain, I can't forget practice!"

The two girls grabbed their brooms and raced to the Quidditch pitch. They arrived breathless, just in time as the Gryffindor Quidditch team was exiting. Jessica and Amber exchanged puzzled looks as the noticed the Weasley twins leaving the pitch looking decidedly bandy-legged. Jessica shrugged and Amber smirked.

"STD acting up, boys? I hear those boils are killers…"

Fred and George merely stared at her, dumbfounded.

Fred asked incredulously, "How did you know about the…?"

George smacked him on the head before he could finish his question. At that, the twins merely shot Jessica and Amber evil glares before turning to go to the castle.

Jessica looked at Amber in amazement. "Boils? How did you know?" Jessica's look of amazement turned to one of suspicion.

Amber shrugged. "Just making a guess…it was either that or…well, never mind."

Jessica rolled her eyes and mounted her broom as the rest of the team arrived.

Several hours later, practice was over. Amber and Jessica left the changing rooms while discussing points the team needed to improve. They were so caught up in their discussion that they failed to see two oddly red-haired shadows whispering in dark corner they were turning.

Jessica blinked disbelievingly as Amber proudly informed her of Gryffindor's new keeper the next evening in the near-empty Ravenclaw common room.

"Ron?"

"He did better than anyone at tryouts. He was obviously nervous, but he even beat out McLaggen." Her air was that of a proud big sister.

"Well, now we know where he's been going every night and didn't want us to know. He probably figured we'd make fun of him." Jessica sighed. "I thought maybe we'd have a chance at beating Gryffindor this year. It might turn out easier than we thought."

"Jessica!" Amber looked thoroughly offended. "You didn't watch the practices. He's better than we all think he is. Just because--"

"Because nothing. I shouldn't have run him down. I'm sorry, all right?" Jessica stiffened and bent over the Transfig paper she was working on.

Amber sighed. She knew something was wrong with Jess, but she had no earthly idea what it could be. She wanted to find out, but problems of her own were weighing on her mind. _She's probably just got PMS, _she dismissed as she pulled out her journal. There was a lot to think about, a lot to write about.

She had been thinking since yesterday about the letter from her dad along with his belated birthday gift to her. Things he said in the letter bothered her more than a little. In addition to all the confusion about other circumstances, she was now forced to wonder about the cryptic hints her father had given her that not all was as she understood it to be_. Murder, he said. _She bit her lip and stopped writing. _I wonder what he meant? _She looked over at her best friend, who was still writing furiously at her essay that was due the very next morning. Amber wanted nothing more than to spill everything, all her frustration and confusion about the letter, to Jessica, but given the dark-haired girl's recent moodiness, she held her tongue.

Several days passed, and the girls had heard not a word from the twins. Suspicious though it was, there was so much else going on that it seemed to be of no consequence. Almost the entire school was buzzing with complaints about how awful Umbridge was. Every year of every house was forced to sit through meaningless blathering in a class that should have been preparing them for the real world, while having to listen to flat-out lies about how peachy the real world supposedly was.

As if she needed anything to increase her hatred of the horrid woman (and her own steadily growing foul mood), Jessica had just found out from her sister that Ron had just received a letter from Percy. Apparently her ambitious ex had, among other things, offered high praise of the "pink tyrant," as Bradley and Chambers had taken to calling Umbridge. Somehow, irrational though it was, Jessica subconsciously attributed part of the fault of Percy's falling out with his family to Umbridge, and her impatience with the situation grew now that it had suddenly become much more personal.

Finally on Thursday, Hermione cornered Jessica and Amber on their way out of the Great Hall after dinner. "Meet us at the Hog's Head this Saturday," she said in an undertone.

Amber nodded compliantly as Jessica bit back a sarcastic remark about "spew." "What is it this time?" she asked, trying to sound patient.

"Oh, just a little extra...studying," Hermione said casually. Then she covertly flashed a book she was carrying; it was their DADA book that Umbridge had given them.

That attracted the other girls' interests. "We'll be there," Amber promised, with Jessica nodding.

As they made their way to their common room, the girls fell silent as they heard what sounded like a whispered curse or hex in the corridor. Jessica's eyes widened as she saw the Weasley twins step out of the shadows and run off.

"They're running from him, aren't they? From the Dark Lord?"

"If they are…we've got to help them! Oh no." Amber's eyes widened.

"What?"

"They think he's their friend! They think the Dark Lord is their friend!"

Jessica and Amber exchanged horrified looks and then ran after the Weasley twins.

It was no use. Possessing much longer legs, the twins had long since disappeared. Amber and Jessica ran to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Jessica looked at Amber in desperation, not knowing the password.

Amber brightened, "I know the password! Mimbulus mimbletonia!" The portrait swung open. "I learned it when….oh, Godric, when I thought I was--"

"_Don't_ say his name--" Jessica hissed, but stopped short upon seeing the occupants of the couch in front of the fireplace. "Amber, it's _him!"_ she yelled. "DUCK!" At that, she threw herself behind the aforementioned couch.

His conversation interrupted by the strange yells and thumps, Lee Jordan turned to view the cause of the disturbance. He looked truly puzzled when he realized that Amber Papineau was looking at him with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. For her part, she appeared to be rooted to her place, nearly cowering in fear. Angelina turned to her boyfriend, confused, upon seeing Amber's terrified face. She had shrugged when she saw Fred and George run up to their dormitory just moments before, and she had no more idea of what was going on now.

Amber, looking as though she was confronting her death, yelled, "For Harry!" and pointed her wand at Lee.

Lee ducked as a curse sailed just over his head. He looked on in disbelief as Jessica emerged from her hiding spot, ran toward Amber, and all but dragged her out of the room. He slowly turned toward Angelina. "Did that really happen, or am I just imagining things?"

"I hope you don't imagine other girls! No, that was very real. And very disturbing. It's probably some plot of Fred and George's. Or they're attempting to play some prank on Fred and George," said Angelina, rolling her eyes disgustedly.

"It has to be Fred and George…if Amber and Jessica were the ones responsible, they wouldn't have left without finding the twins." Lee stood suddenly.

"Fred! George! What in the world is going on?!"

The twins, emerging from their dormitory at the sound of their best friend's loud voice, tumbled into Common Room, convulsing with laughter.

Fred brightly noted, "Why, Lee, we thought we heard your dulcet tones."

George continued, "Indeed, dear fellow, you seem to be quite upset--"

"--and we don't know why you should be--"

"Is Angie not keeping you happy?"

Fred looked at his twin incredulously. "That's not what you were supposed to say next, Forge!"

Angelina was looking at all three of the other occupants of the room with fury in her eyes. "I demand to know exactly what is going on! As your Quidditch captain and girlfriend!"

Fred looked at her innocently. "Jeesh, Angelina, are you dating George, too? This is all very informative--"

"--but you really should take care not to be too obvious with your infidelities or Lee might get jealous and--"

Angelina stood threateningly. Fred and George suddenly decided it was better for their health to be quiet. Lee was looking at all three of them in helpless confusion. Angelina spoke. "ENOUGH! Now tell us what is going on!"

Fred and George exchanged quick glances. George began, "Well, you see--"

"--we needed to exact revenge on those heartless wenches for their cruel prank--"

"--so we decided to do so only after concocting an incredibly difficult charm--"

"--which we can't reveal to you, because then we'd have to kill you--"

"--or get expelled and have Mum kill us--"

"--and that's wholly unacceptable."

"We'll just let it suffice to say that Jessica and Amber have a delightful new idea--"

"--about the identity of You-Know-Who."

"We wanted them to think it's Harry, but--"

"Funny, they seem to think _you_'re the next Dark Lord--"

"Something clearly went wrong." The twins drew in breaths. Angelina was looking at them exasperatedly while Lee was clearly bemused.

Lee grinned at Fred and George. "They think _I'm_ He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Wicked! I'm going to have so much fun with this…" His voice died off as he realized that his girlfriend was glaring at him. "Uh, I mean...I'm going to put a stop to this at once. And you all will help me, right, Gred, Forge?"

The twins nodded enthusiastically while Angelina, momentarily satisfied, stalked to her dormitory for the evening.

Fred turned to Lee immediately. "You're not actually going to stop this, are you?"

"Are you kidding me? I'll be the best Dark Lord since Merlin!"

George helpfully pointed out, "Merlin wasn't a Dark Lord."

Lee nodded. "Exactly!"

Fred and George looked at each other, and shrugged, and said in unison, "Excellent!"

"Out of curiosity, when will this wear off?"

Fred smiled rather cruelly. "No clue."

The next morning, Amber and Jessica went down to breakfast, accompanied by Bradley and Chambers. They took their normal places at the Ravenclaw table. All four began calmly eating their breakfast.

"Make way! Seriously evil wizard coming through!" was heard by the entire student population. Harry Potter turned to survey the twins suspiciously, but turned back to his food when he realized that they seemed to be referring to Lee Jordan.

Jessica stood. "Run! Everyone out! Before he can kill you!" Unfortunately, no one else seemed of the opinion that staying in the same room as Lee was detrimental to their well-being. So it was that only one person heeded her screamed advice, and that was Amber.

Bradley looked across the table at Chambers. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Chambers shook his head, looking baffled, before responding, "No idea. D'you suppose they're all right?"

"Have they ever been? I mean, we've known they're mental since day one. I guess the proper question is, should we do something?"

Chambers smirked. "I don't know. This definitely has the potential to be highly entertaining."

Bradley grinned. "You're right. We have to help them, and the wisest thing to is to ascertain exactly what's wrong first. If we get a laugh along the way, well…"

"Exactly."

"Jessica, I can't do it! I can't go to Transfiguration! The Dark Lord is there! What am I supposed to do?"

"I'm not sure. You have to go, I mean, didn't you tell me it was a really important lesson? Wait, I know!"

Amber looked at her best friend in desperation. "What?"

"McGonagall! Tell McGonagall! She'll make sure he doesn't hurt any of the students," Jessica nodded her head as if to emphasize her point.

Amber looked uncertain, but nodded. "All right. I guess so. If it doesn't go well, though, tell my family I love them. And tell Oliver he's always been a good friend."

At this, Jessica and Amber bid each other farewell. The latter of the two squared her shoulders determinedly and ran to the Transfiguration classroom, determined to arrive before the other students.

Amber flung herself into the classroom. Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows and asked imperiously, "Miss Papineau, what on earth is going on?"

Panting, Amber managed to say, "Professor, you have to stop him. You have to make sure no one gets hurt!"

"Miss Papineau, I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about. Is this your idea of a joke?" The Transfiguration mistress did not look pleased.

Amber was nearly in tears born of desperation. "No! Professor, I'm serious! You should know! Lee Jordan! He's the Dark Lord! Everyone is in terrible danger!"

Professor McGonagall snorted, scoffing. "The only danger he poses is lowering Miss Johnson's grades. Now, please, do sit down!"

The words had just left the Deputy Headmistress' mouth when the rest of the N.E.W.T. Transfiguration students poured into the classroom--Lee Jordan included. Upon catching sight of the grinning Quidditch announcer, Amber yelped and jumped behind Minerva McGonagall.

While Fred, George and Lee began laughing raucously, McGonagall narrowed her eyes, catching on. She turned around. "_Finite Incantatem!"_

Amber suddenly shook her head, as if to clear cobwebs from it. Then she stilled and her eyes narrowed. She stepped past Professor McGonagall, who was now looking at her with mild concern, and glared at Fred and George. "I'm going to kill you both!"

Professor McGonagall pointed to a desk near the front of the classroom. "I would prefer that you wait until after my class to kill anyone, Miss Papineau. Please sit."

Amber reddened, and did not acknowledge Bradley or Chambers as they slid into the seats next to her.

Arriving at the Great Hall for lunch, Bradley and Chambers were both attempting to slow Amber as she furiously made her way after the sprinting Weasley twins and Lee Jordan. She nearly ran straight into Jessica, who appeared to be cowering against the wall.

"Oh, sorry, Jess! Oh, wait--_finite incantatem_!" Jessica, too, shook her head. Then, the newly normal Jessica turned to Bradley and Chambers and sounded surprisingly venomous as she asked, "Why, for Salazar's sake, didn't you do anything to keep us from humiliating ourselves in front of the _entire _school?!"

Amber appeared surprised as the two Chasers did, but then slowly turned to them. In a low, dangerous voice, she asked, "Indeed, why didn't you?"

Bradley put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "We didn't want you to get hurt…" Jessica snorted.

Chambers cut in. "Remember, we are your friends. Remember? It's the Weasley twins you want to kill, not us. You do remember right?"

Seeing that the two girls were still glaring murderously at them, Bradley cried out in desperation. "Don't hurt us! You love us, you know you do!"

"Yeah! Papineau, you can't kill me! Half the school thinks we're dating! How would it look if…" Chambers broke off, seeing Jessica and Amber roll their eyes expressively and walk into the Great Hall.

They were making their way over to the Gryffindor table when Angelina spotted them. Seeing the glares that were directed at her boyfriend and beaters, she quickly stood. Intercepting Jessica and Amber, she hurriedly stated, "Come on, let's not hurt anyone!"

Amber narrowed her eyes. "Not hurt anyone? _Not hurt anyone?_ Are you kidding me?"

Angelina spoke, "No, not joking. Really, I know the twins are responsible for this and I'll make them practice longer. Just don't hurt Lee. He didn't do anything. I think."

Jessica looked at the Gryffindor Quidditch captain in disbelief. "Didn't do anything? I'll believe that when…Harry Potter becomes a Death Eater!"

Amber seemed on the point of agreeing, but then stopped short. "No, Jess, she's right. We'll let Angelina sort this out. Thanks, Angelina," she added before attempting to pull her friend to the Ravenclaw table. Angelina stopped them. "Wait! The twins told me they meant Harry to be the, er, Dark Lord. Do you know why it ended up being Lee?"

Amber shrugged, while the rage-filled Jessica was still attempting to get past her friend and Angelina to accost the Weasley twins. Amber gave her friend's arm a hard tug and finally succeeded in getting her to their table. Jessica was now looking at Amber in irritation.

"Listen, Jess, we hex them now, we'll get in trouble…"

Jess thought a minute, then grinned. "Hex them later, they get in trouble?"

Amber smiled in satisfaction. "Exactly."


End file.
